Astral Online: Cursed by the Demon Lord to Become the Strongest Beautiful Girl, I Rapidly Grow and Dominate with Cheat Skills Despite Being the Weakest Profession - Chapter 55
Chapter 55: Journey Through the Temple
It was 10 PM.
In real life, I had finished dinner and a bath, and we left the base after Kuro had finished breakfast.
The ?Temple of the Wind? seemed to be about an hour’s walk from here, making it quite a distance.
Looking up at the sky, it seemed the sun was setting earlier than usual.
The surroundings were growing darker.
The forest, usually filled with the sounds of beasts, was now very quiet, with only the crunching of dry leaves under our feet breaking the silence.
Feeling a bit uneasy, Kuro clung to my arm, which had become her usual spot over the past three days.
Since there was no reason to refuse, I gave a wry smile and kept walking.
After a while, when visibility became difficult, Aria took out a ?Magic Lamp? to light up the surroundings.
Aria turned around and said:
“Sora, Kuro, please watch your step.”
Saying that, she happily led the way, humming a tune.
Meanwhile, I still wore a complex expression regarding the phenomenon that had occurred in the office.
Level 50…
I should be happy that one of my party members’ levels are increasing.
However, the fact that Aria’s level increased immediately upon accepting the quest, considering her role as an essential event character, gave me an unsettling feeling based on my experience as a gamer.
For example, Aria’s level jumped to 50 suddenly.
This likely means that the difficulty of the dungeon in the temple is based on a level 50 standard.
Of course, considering Aria’s combat skills, there might be a balancing measure from the developers to ensure she doesn’t die easily at level 50.
Either way, we won’t know until we get there, but it’s better to be cautious.
As we walked deeper into the forest, I opened the window to check the items I had.
There were 30 HP recovery potions.
100 MP recovery potions.
And 20 antidote potions.
Unlike potions, which take 10 seconds to use, antidotes work in just 5 seconds.
Initially, I thought antidotes would take at least 10 seconds to use, just like potions.
So, when I found out how practical they were, Kuro and I were really excited.
“It’s so reassuring to have these antidotes…”
“Everyone was happy.”
“In a normal game, items like that are sold everywhere, so you wouldn’t struggle so much.”
“Is that so?”
“So, Kuro, is this your first fantasy game? Usually, basic items like these are placed in stores to deal with stage characteristics or monsters, like armies that use poison or poison bees in this case. Normally, they’re stocked in tool shops for countermeasures against such monsters.”
“But this game didn’t have them.”
“That’s what I don’t understand. Especially since level 2 poison causes serious damage, not having antidotes would mess up the balance… Huh?”
As I walked with that question in mind, my ?Perception? skill detected something.
It wasn’t from a player or NPC.
It was definitely a monster.
“I’ve detected an enemy with the skill. There’s only one, so how about we test our strength?”
“A test?”
Kuro tilted her head, and I answered.
“Sonic Sword was nerfed, but from what I’ve seen on the bulletin board, its power and speed seem to have increased. Since my Sonic Sword is level III, I want to check its specs.”
“I see.”
“Alright, let’s fight!”
With the agreement of the two, we encountered the monster right in the middle of the path leading straight to the temple.
It was a large spider.
About 2 meters long.
An insect with black body hair and eight legs.
Named ?Big Spider?, it looked exactly as its name suggested and had a rather unpleasant appearance even for those not averse to bugs.
The level of the enemy, as revealed by my ?Insight? skill, was exactly 30.
Its weakness was fire.
Although its stats were quite high, we had me at level 31, Kuro at level 23, and Aria, who had just reached level 50.
Honestly, it wasn’t a major threat.
Kuro, however, seemed to be particularly disturbed by this kind of creature, turning pale and hiding behind me.
“Kuro?”
“I-I can’t handle spiders…”
“I see. Then let’s deal with it quickly.”
After telling Kuro to stay hidden behind Aria, I stepped forward and charged.
If it had been yesterday, I would have taken the enemy’s flank with ?Sonic Turn?, but since it now has a cooldown, I can’t use it continuously.
Is the information on the bulletin board true, or just a figment of imagination?
I readied my ?Silver Sword? and used ?Sonic Sword III?.
“!”
With a speed that exceeded my expectations, the surroundings blurred and were left behind.
I quickly closed the distance to the ?Big Spider?, took a large step, and combined body control with the system assistant to deliver a horizontal slash with my sword.
The ?Big Spider?, which had raised its two claws to intercept me, seemed caught off guard by my speed.
Before it could bring its claws down, I landed a hit on its unguarded torso, cutting about 30% of its health in one blow.
Furious, the ?Big Spider? tried to impale me in retaliation.
I immediately backstepped, narrowly avoiding its counterattack claws, and the enemy actually turned around, presenting its rear to me.
The opponent was a spider-type monster.
From playing other RPGs, you can almost always predict what’s coming next.
Trying to take evasive action, I instinctively tried to use ?Sonic Turn?.
Seeing the system warning, “Cooldown in progress, 2 seconds remaining,” I realized my mistake.
The spider shot out threads aiming to entangle me.
At that moment, a sharp, lightning-like arrow from behind struck the spider’s rear.
It was Aria providing support with her bow.
Receiving a massive blow that cut 30% of its HP, the spider’s thread release was forcibly stopped.
The Big Spider flinched greatly.
Seizing this opportunity, I closed in and used 35 MP to add a fire attribute.
The next skill I chose was ?Rage Slant?, which has a large post-use delay but is the most powerful attack skill.
The blade was enveloped in white flames.
“Ha!”
Channeling my energy, I unleashed a decisive strike from the bottom right to the top left, cleaving the ?Big Spider? in two.
Combined with its weakness to fire, the remaining 40% of the spider’s HP was completely wiped out.
After a moment, the Big Spider’s body dissipated into particles of light.
I obtained experience points and a drop item called “Spider’s Hair,” which seemed quite useless.
As the Big Spider’s form vanished, Kuro peeked cutely from behind Aria.
Seeing this, I couldn’t help but smile.
“We’ve defeated the scary spider, so it’s okay now.”
“…Phew, that’s a relief.”
“It’s surprising that Kuro seems so composed in battle, but is actually afraid of spiders.”
“I’m fine with bees and beetles, but spiders and centipedes are a no-go for me.”
I wonder if the number of legs was the problem.
Thinking that, I sheathed my sword and approached the two, turning to face Aria.
“Thanks for the support. You really helped us out.”
“I chose a bow that my father used when he was young, so it’s a good bow that flies true to where it’s aimed.”
The bow Aria is using now is the ?Oberon’s Bow?, which has a rarity of ?B?.
Its power is ?B?? and it has a weight of 100, making it quite heavy for a bow. Combined with the equipment she’s currently wearing, which belonged to her mother, its total weight is 280.
Aria’s maximum weight capacity at level 50 is 250.
So, her current equipment exceeds the limit by 30.
Even so, she chose strong equipment because she wants to be of help to me and Kuro, who are on the front lines.
Receiving Aria’s determination to fight, Kuro and I vowed to never let a monster through to the back.
Recalling the events before we set off, I asked Aria, “By the way, you seem to be okay with spiders.”
“Even when I was small, my father, mother, and I used to go hunting in the forest for fun. I saw my father handle Big Spiders so often that I became quite accustomed to them…”
Aria, with a vacant look, gazed off into the distance, her expression suggesting that her fear was long gone.
Hunting with her parents.
I thought to myself that Aria’s parents must be quite close, but then—
“Oh.”
Remembering Kuro’s situation as explained by Shino, I suddenly felt that this might be serious and looked at her anxiously.
Then Kuro smiled and said, “…They must be good parents.”
“Yes. I would love to introduce you both as the best companions to my father and mother.”
“Yeah, I’m looking forward to it too…”
Kuro gave a small nod to Aria’s words.
Although it seemed okay at first glance, her smile looked somewhat sad to me.